Euro 2008: Betfred betting preview - Italy v Romania

Italy will be hoping to bounce back after their humiliating defeat at the hands of the Dutch, and are 8/13 favourites with Betfred to do just that after being heavily backed at 8/11 to beat Romania.

But the Italians will have to show a lot more hunger in the tea-time clash if they are to stand a chance of progressing through to the quarter finals against a Romanian side who showed they are no mugs in an opening goaless draw against France.

"As soon as the final whistle blew in Italy's 3-0 demolition by Holland punters were on the phone backing them to bounce back in today's game. One client had £11,000 on them at 8/11 to triumph, and the sheer weight of money has forced us to cut them in to red hot 8/13 favourites," said Betfred spokesman Dave Metcalf.

"The good news for the Italians is that they look like being at full strength for the game. But they rely a lot on their star man Luca Toni and if he doesn't perform they may not have enough firepower to get them through against an organised Romanian team who will prove a tough nut to crack.

"The value could lie in the draw at 5/2 and punters are starting to get stuck into that, whereas we haven't had any substantial bets on Romania to win the game at 4/1," added Dave.

The Warrington-based firm make Luca Toni 9-2 favourite to grab the opening goal of the game, but it is his fellow team mate Antonio Cassano who is being backed at 8-1.

"We are a stand out 8/1 for Cassano, who is as low as 5/1 to net first and if he does the business he will cost us a bundle," said Dave.

Best bets - Italy v Romania (Kick off 5pm)
Match Betting: Draw 5/2
First goalscorer: Cassano 8/1
Total goals: Under 2.5 1/2